Sign up for the Easy Peasy Pea Challenge!

Youngsters are being invited to take part in the Easy Peasy Pea Challenge which allows them to have a go at sowing, growing and showing homegrown crops of delicious green peas, either in a window box or small growing patch.

Published:13:00Saturday 16 April 2016

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is calling on green-fingered primary school youngsters to take part in a new healthy eating challenge.

Youngsters are being invited to take part in the Easy Peasy Pea Challenge which allows them to have a go at ‘sowing, growing and showing’ homegrown crops of delicious green peas, either in a window box or small growing patch.

Every school that registers for the challenge before the end of April will receive a free Easy Peasy Pea Seed Kit to kick start planting at school, provided by WWF and the Seed Pantry. The kit includes a pack of Sugar Ann pea seeds, a simple growing guide and a tasty pea recipe card from Alpro.

Peas only take ten weeks to grow, so young growers can simply sow the seeds at school and share their school pea’s progress using the hashtag #Plant2Plate and tweeting a school selfie with the seed packet @wwf_uk.

WWF wants schools taking part to share news of their first green shoots, when their peas begin to climb, first pea pods, how tall the peas grow and to hear the most unusual and inventive pea recipes.

Neil Whitehead, director of the Seed Pantry, said: “We’re excited to be involved in the Easy Peasy Pea Challenge.’ Growing peas at school is a great way for children to re-connect with, and understand food, from seed to plate.”

The Easy Peasy Pea Challenge is part of WWF’s exciting Plant2Plate school campaign. Sponsored by Alpro, Plant2Plate focuses on what can be done to produce and consume food in a sustainable way that is not harmful to our shared planet and that is healthier for people.

Cherry Duggan, head of Schools and Youth at WWF, said: “WWF believes we should all encourage children to have a go at planting, growing and cooking with fresh ingredients because food is key to our health and a really

important environmental issue.

“Changing to healthier diets - with more fruit and vegetables, less meat, and different sources of protein - is very much in the news currently. But we rarely hear how what we eat and the ways in which we are growing, producing and processing food has a massive impact on our planet, contributing substantially to climate change and biodiversity loss.

“We can value food and make better choices - for people and the planet - and that’s a hugely important message for young people. That and learning how much fun it is to grow and cook with your own produce.”